Where we live matters to our health. The health of a community depends on many different factors, including quality of health care, individual behavior, education and jobs and the environment. We can improve a community’s health through programs and policies. An example would be people who live in communities with ample park and recreation space are more likely to exercise, which reduces heart disease risk. People who live in communities with smoke-free laws are less likely to smoke or to be exposed to second-hand smoke, which reduces lung cancer risk. The problem is that there are big differences in health across our communities with some places being much healthier than others.
Counties in Missouri receive two summary ranks:
Health Outcomes
Health Factors
Each of the above ranks represents a weighted summary of a number of measures. Health outcomes represent how healthy a county is while health factors are what influences the health of the county.
HEALTH CARE FACTORS
The summary health factors ranking is based on four factors:
Health behaviors Clinical Care
Physical Environment Social and Economic
Each of these factors is based on several measures
HEALTH BEHAVIORS INCLUDE
Measures of smoking Exercise Diet
Alcohol Usage Risky sex behavior
Clinical care includes measures of access to care and quality of care.
Click on link below to receive further information regarding
County Health Rankings Study
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Why Public Health ........... Click here to find out
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